Page 22 of Greystone’s Legacy (To All The Earls I’ve Loved Before #5)
A few chuckles broke out among their audience, particularly from the merchant who had been discussing wool prices earlier.
"I don't want some delicate hothouse flower who's never set foot outside London," Freddie continued. "I want a partner who understands that true greatness lies in service to others, who knows that the strength of an estate lies not in its ballrooms but in its farms and workshops and people."
His grip on her hand tightened slightly.
"Together, we can build something new at Greystone.
Something that honours both our backgrounds - your practical wisdom and my family's traditions.
We can show that true nobility isn't about who has the finest carriage or gives the most elaborate balls, but about who best serves their community and cares for their dependents. "
Aunt Cecilia was openly weeping now, while Aunt Felicity had produced a handkerchief and was dabbing at her eyes.
"The ton may sneer at first," Freddie acknowledged, "but they cannot deny results.
When they see how Greystone flourishes under our joint care, they will have to acknowledge that there is more than one way to be a countess.
That perhaps the best countess is one who knows the price of wool as well as the steps of a quadrille. "
His voice softened, becoming more intimate despite their public setting.
"I love you, Hester Wynstanley, precisely because you are not what society expects.
Because you challenge conventions and make me see the world differently.
Because you understand that true worth lies not in what we inherit, but in what we build together. "
Hester looked down at Freddie, still kneeling before her despite his sodden state, and felt the last of her doubts dissolve like morning mist before the sun. In that moment, she saw their future laid out before them with perfect clarity.
"Yes," she said, her voice carrying clearly through the hushed room. "Yes, I will marry you, Freddie. Not because you're the heir to Greystone, but because you see me - truly see me - as I am."
The smile that broke across Freddie's face was like sunrise after the storm outside.
He surged to his feet, pulling her into his arms with no regard for his wet clothing or their spellbound audience.
"My practical, beautiful, impossible love," he murmured, before claiming her lips in a kiss that managed to be both perfectly proper and thoroughly passionate.
The dining room erupted in cheers and applause.
The merchant raised his glass in a toast, and soon every glass in the room was lifted in celebration.
The innkeeper's wife hurried away and returned moments later with bottles of wine, declaring that such a romantic occasion demanded proper celebration.
"Oh, my dears," Aunt Cecilia dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief that had long since become damp with happy tears. "I knew you would sort it all out properly."
"Indeed," Aunt Felicity agreed, accepting a glass of wine from a beaming serving girl. "Though I must say, Lord Frederick, your timing could be better. It's been a jolly damp journey today."
" You're damp!" Freddie groaned, finally releasing Hester though he kept her hand firmly clasped in his. "It's utterly miserable out there!" He shook his head. "I've never been so glad to see a warm inn in my life."
"But how did you know where to find us?" Hester asked, still somewhat dazed by the rapid turn of events.
"Grandmother," Freddie admitted.
"Of course." Hester half-laughed, remembering Lady Burrowes' insistence that they must overnight at the Wheatsheaf. "She fully intended to send you after us, didn't she?"
"You were so insistent on going she could not stop you, but yes. She told me most sternly not to dare come back without you. Or without Aunt Felicity's recipe for herbal tea, for her arthritis!"
The family with children had given up all pretence of maintaining decorum, allowing their offspring to gather around Hester and Freddie with wide-eyed wonder.
"Will you be a real countess?" the youngest girl asked Hester, her eyes shining.
"Indeed she will," Freddie answered before Hester could respond. "The finest countess Greystone has ever seen. One who knows that true elegance lies in how we treat others, not in how many silk gowns we own."
"Though perhaps," Aunt Cecilia interjected with a gentle smile, "we might see about having a few new gowns made regardless. A countess should be practical, my dear, but she need not be austere."
Hester laughed, the sound bright and free from the worry that had weighted it earlier. "Very well, Aunt. Though I insist they be made of good, sturdy fabric that won't tear at the first fence I need to climb."
"My grandfather will be delighted," Freddie said, drawing her closer.
"And the ton?" Hester asked, though the question held none of the fear it had earlier.
"Will learn to appreciate you." Freddie's eyes sparkled with both mischief and devotion.
"Though I must warn you, my love, that you've rather forced my hand on the announcement.
Half of London will know of our engagement before we return, thanks to our friend there.
" He nodded toward the merchant, who was already scribbling what looked suspiciously like a letter to his London connections.
"Good," Hester said firmly. "Let them know that the future Earl of Greystone chose his bride not for her conformity to their expectations, but for her ability to help him build something greater than mere social acceptance."
"My brave, practical love," Freddie murmured, drawing her close for another kiss that set the room cheering again.
Outside, the storm began to ease, the clouds parting to reveal stars twinkling like diamonds scattered across black velvet.
But Hester didn't notice. She was too busy planning improvements to Greystone's farming operations, even as Freddie kissed her, and their audience celebrated, and her aunts began discussing wedding details with the innkeeper's wife.
The future stretched before them, bright with promise, practical as good Welsh wool, and romantic as any tale ever told in London's finest drawing rooms. It would be uniquely their own, this marriage of practical wisdom and aristocratic tradition, and all the better for it.